101 essential pregnancy and baby items shopping checklist

101 Pregnancy and Baby Essential Items Mega guide and Checklist

[If you’ve been following my blog for a while you’ll know that I like LONG blogposts. I don’t like short and less useful blogposts. I want to help and be useful to as many people as possible which is why I wanted to get everything down, and write about ALL the products I used. That being said, you can check the different ‘chapter’ headings at the top and just skip to the ones you are interested in if you are not interested in reading everything. And no, there aren’t 101 products but that number just sounded good. 🙂

These are all my honest opinions, good or bad.]

As pregnant women or new mums we’re always looking for new and cool things to make our life just that much easier. I am so thankful that so many cool and useful things exist, none of which existed when I was a baby. I wonder how our parents ever got through this parenting gig without these amazing things!

Most people just use what is recommended to them or what is locally available but I’m obsessed with researching and reading reviews (as well as asking other mums of course) and since I have a big connection in France I also read a lot of French review websites and forums to find out more about French products. I did the same for UK products. And trust me, there is WAY WAY WAY more choice of baby products in both those countries compared to Australia. I didn’t really delve into American products much because many of them are not readily available in Australia and/or have exorbitant shipping fees.

I’m a huge fan of European products since that’s where the history of design and innovation comes from but I’m also a fan of Australian products because we have such creative entrepreneurial people here, and we also have exceedingly high safety standards…

It took us a while to become pregnant and it was a rather stressful time… but once we were pregnant I still didn’t feel relaxed about it. I couldn’t until at least the 3 month mark….  On one hand I was overjoyed with the news that I was pregnant, on the other hand I didn’t want to buy any baby products for fear of jinxing ourselves… One day (around the 1 month mark) I couldn’t wait any longer and was thinking like Nike’s “Just do it”. I started off small by just buying books… nothing sentimental… then around the 2 month mark I started buying more and more stuff…

Pregnancy

Books

Both hubby and I love reading (books, as in real books on paper, not in a digital form) and we found these books very useful. I was reading Birth Skills right up until my labour but I never got to finish it! Hahaha. We also did a Calm Birth class and the book was a good supplement and reminder of what we’d learnt in that class. Up the Duff is a hilarious take on the whole pregnancy period, nicely ordered week by week. What to expect when you’re expecting is the book that everyone knows and refers to. The order of a bit jumbled though. In that sense, it almost reads like a magazine with bits here and bits there and you don’t necessarily have to read the book from front to back. The First Forty Days is a book that was recommended by our Calm Birth practitioner. Since I come from a Chinese background and the Chinese practice ‘yuezi‘ (sitting the month) where the mother is supposed to recuperate during the first month, (or 40 days in the case of this book) and not do anything strenuous, including housework. This book is written by a Chinese-American woman and brings this ancient practice into the modern age… Save our Sleep was a great book, but not for everyone! Many mothers are against ‘sleep training’ and if so, this book is not for you. However, we went to ‘Sleep School‘ and I followed most things in this book and our baby sleeps like a dream (most of the time) so it definitely worked for us and will work for you too if you put in the time and effort. Having a routine for baby was also a gamechanger and lifesaver, which I really recommend.

Finally, there is The Wonder Weeks. Most mums just use the app but I am old fashioned and as I said, still prefer books on paper so I got the book. Besides, the book has much more indepth information than the app! The premise is that babies go through ‘leaps’ every few weeks during developmental and physical growth spurts and this can severely affect their sleep and eating habits and behaviour in general. This great book (and app) helps you figure it all out…

Jump Eat Cry nursing dress essential pregnancy and baby items

Jump Eat Cry

Jump Eat Cry nursing dress essential pregnancy and baby items

Jump Eat Cry

Mama Clothing nursing dress essential pregnancy and baby items

Mama Clothing

Maternity Clothing

In looking for maternity clothes I realised that 90% of brands all looked the same. They all had black and white or grey and white horizontal stripes. I’m not sure who decided that all pregnant women want to look like zebras? In any case, I got sick of ugly, boring, overpriced maternity clothes. I got nice colourful dresses from Asos which has really fast shipping from the UK (even faster than within Australia!), and a got a few things from Boohoo, (which are cheaper and lower quality). Locally I really liked the Melbourne-based Australian brand Mama clothing, and I also love Jump Eat Cry which is a Singaporean brand, so much so that I became a brand ambassador/influencer for them.

101 essential pregnancy and baby items Bellybean pillow

Sleep

Towards the end of your pregnancy (third/last trimester) sleeping will become more and more uncomfortable. We cannot sleep on our backs (due to pressing on the vena cava vein and potentially cutting off blood supply to you or your baby), so we can only sleep on our sides.. our left side. Now, normally I prefer a firmer mattress but during pregnancy I liked our slightly softer mattress for cushioning my big fat hip. Still, it was difficult to find the ‘right’ position when sleeping. I started off with the Baby Studio Body pillow which was fine but hubby hated it as it was like a third person in our bed. I didn’t toss it out though as I ended up using it for nursing. It has a dual purpose! I ended up sleeping on top of a Belly Bean which I absolutely loved! In fact, I still sleep with it now and baby’s been OUT of me for 9 months haha. I also just used a regular square sofa cushion for between my knees and that made sleeping on my side much more comfy.

Vitamins

I took a lot of vitamins pre-conception and during but these are the ones I used the most. I’ve been taking normal Blackmores Multivitamin for years, even decades but I found out you can’t take that while pregnant due to the Vitamin A in it.

TummyShield Pregnancy seatbelt

TummyShield Pregnancy seatbelt

Pregnancy and labour

Now this is the category of products that most people normally never think about and maybe don’t think are essential but for me, they gave me peace of mind. The Belly Armor Anti-radiation t-shirt was to avoid exposing the baby to radiation from wifi etc, but I used it mainly for going through airports. I don’t trust those full body scanners at all. The Tummy Shield seat belt was a product I found by accident. It’s not exactly a common object people think to buy or even know they need but as soon as I read about it I knew I had to have it. It was created by a young first time father whose baby suffered brain damage when his wife was in a car accident (the seat belt went into her stomach). Well even if you don’t think you’ll ever need it for safety reasons, I found it was super comfortable to wear, much more comfortable than a regular seat belt.

Foetal Doppler HI Bebe BT200

Then we have the fetal doppler. I found this brand/model is good and made in South Korea. I know these items are controversial and can give false readings blah blah blah but I liked knowing that baby is safe. There are some anxious mums who use them right from the start (12 weeks or so) but I didn’t use it until well into the second and almost third trimester. A friend had told me it is very important to call the hospital straight away if you stop feeling or feel less movements. In 99% of cases everything is fine but just in case its not you wouldn’t want to take the risk. Having this doppler for me meant less trips to the hospital…

And finally, we have the TENS machine. TENS stands for Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and TENS machines are normally used for recovery from sports injuries. I had heard about them during the class at our hospital and also during our Calm Birth class and thought they were a good way to relieve pain naturally. They are quite expensive for a one-time use so most people hire them but I bought mine outright (and got a good percentage back from private health insurance) and then I’ll sell it (which actually works out cheaper than hiring it). It worked well for me … I lasted about 9 hours before I finally had to ask for an epidural. I was against interventions and pain relief but when it comes to having babies there is NOTHING you can really plan for! I’m glad I used the TENS and I’m also glad I got the epidural. If you get a TENS machine, make sure it’s specifically designed for labour, as the regular ones (used for sports injuries) are nowhere near strong enough!!

Baby Items Fetal Doppler TENS machine Snuza Hero

Extra stuff to put in the hospital bag and bring

I have a bad neck and can’t sleep on most pillows so I always bring my own. I also brought along a travel pillow to support my neck when I was sitting upright in bed. I also brought along a water bottle with a straw which turned out to be one of the most useful things since I could drink from it lying down!

Although a hospital is far from a hotel, I thought about things I would pack for other trips and these were…

  • Pillow
  • Travel Pillow
  • Water bottle with straw
  • Extra hair elastics (in case you lose yours)
  • Eye mask
  • Ear plugs
  • Shower cap
  • Slippers / Thongs
  • Lip balm (Blistex in the little pot is my fave. I’ve been using it for decades. It’s cheap and it actually works)
  • Hand cream / moisturiser
  • Metamucil (just in case)
  • Ural (just in case)

The water bottle with sipper straw and lip balm are definite must-haves because you will get so hot (and therefore dehydrated) during labour!

Post-partum

These are not the most glamorous items on the list hahaha but some of the most useful for relieving pain and aiding in healing. My hospital told us to bring in 3 packs of maternity pads (which I did) but I also had these pants, which I found far more useful and comfortable. No matter how big the pad you’ll have leakage which means more underwear washing and in those early days you’ll have more than enough laundry to do for baby and never enough time! These pants catch everything, are comfortable to wear and then you just throw them away! A word of warning for first time mums.. you’ll have what my obstetrician called “the world’s longest period”.. my ‘period’ ended up lasting about 10 weeks (for most women it lasts about 6 weeks though). It’s not actually a period of course, but the lochia, the bloody discharge after childbirth.

Going to the toilet burns about as much as pouring salt into a wound so this upside-down ‘Mom washer’ was a lifesaver. Not only will you need to wash with water and dab ever so slowly and gently with a tissue (wiping would hurt like hell), you may also need to ice the much swollen area down below. My hospital gave us ice packs but if yours doesn’t this reuseable perineum strip ice pack would be a godsend.

Finally, if you didn’t do your Kegel exercises during your pregnancy, you’ll soon wish you had afterwards! But fear not, the TENS machine which I mentioned above has a probe which allows you to gain your muscle strength back and avoid incontinence issues.

Feeding

Breastfeeding

I generally don’t buy anything without reading a ton of reviews from a bunch of different sources, especially when they cost a few hundred… so I had read great reviews from Spectra owners/users, particularly from those who were former Medela pump users. I was very happy with the brand myself. Their pumps were easy to use and worked well. I got the S1 for use at home, and S9 for travel use. The Spectra S9 is not as strong in suction (I feel) and doesn’t have as many settings but if you were tight on budget and travel a lot you could probably just get that one. The only difference between the S1 and S2 is that the S1 has an internal rechargeable battery (for portability) whereas the S2 needs to be connected to power.

I don’t know about other mums but I was leaking a ton, especially at the beginning. I thought I’d be ‘green’ and buy the reusable washable breast pads but little did I know it’s impossible to keep up with the washing and drying (unless you bought like 100 and had heaps of spare time?!) In the end I found disposable ones much better and also more hygienic. (I guess it’s the same with the disposable vs reusable nappies debate but that’s not relevant for this blogpost)… I found the Rite Aid ones from Big W decent quality and the most economical. Otherwise the Pigeon ones from Baby Bunting and elsewhere have pretty much the same design.

Bonds maternity/nursing bras are supposed to be good but they annoyingly never have my size no matter which store I go to. I really liked the Target ones.

Finally, the Australian Breastfeeding Association book was really helpful and has photos too. They offer additional help if you join up as a member and have regular meetings too. Their website is also very helpful.

Baby bottles nursing dress essential pregnancy and baby items

Bottle Feeding

How we got onto baby formula was a bit by accident. Almost every baby item mentioned on this page I had bought months ahead… However, I didn’t buy any baby formula at all because I never planned to use it. Unfortunately, due to a rather traumatic labour this impacted me greatly and I couldn’t produce enough milk. After baby was screaming non-stop out of hunger hubby quickly went to the shops to get some formula. As he didn’t want to deal with traffic or parking he rode his bike! Anyway, he just picked something out himself which turned out to be Nestlé Nan Organic. Now there was nothing wrong with that, baby took it well and we stuck with it for a while but then I started researching, wondering if there was something better… We didn’t necessarily have to stick with Nestlé but I decided to because knowing we would go to France soon (for a month) we needed something that could also be bought easily over there, so buying and using Australian brands wouldn’t help (as I didn’t intend on lugging over several giant tins of baby formula in our suitcases!) Something I learned is that even though the brand and model may have the same name, every country has different standards, so the quantity of each ingredient is somewhat different. That being said, Bubs didn’t have a problem at all…

So I read up on quite a bit about baby formula. However, the more I read, the more confused I got ;P  First of all, my maternal and child nurse recommended to use a formula with a lower protein content. The reason being that too high protein levels can promote obesity in the infant. Breastmilk typically contains 1g or 1.1g of protein per 100g. However, commercially made baby formula (baby milk powder) can contain up to 1.6g of protein. The lowest I found on the Australian market has 1.3g.

Then you have to look at the whey:casein ratio which is usually 60:40 (which is the same for human breastmilk). Nan Supreme is 100% whey based though. This is only used for babies with specific nutritional needs.  Then there are the AHA or ‘hypoallergenic’ or hydrolysed ones which, again, are for babies with specific needs or who have food allergies.

I then read about the sugar levels and was horrified to discover that Nestlé adds sugar (sucrose/fructose/glucose/corn syrup/maltodextrin) into their formula… but then I calmed down when I realised that breastmilk itself contains a lot of natural sugars such as lactose.

Another thing is, organic formulas don’t contain taurine or carnitine as these synthetic amino acids can’t be produced organically. Knowing this and knowing that organic formulas cost a lot more than non-organic ones, I chose a mid-range Nestlé formula, Optipro. Btw the ‘entry level’ one called Nan Comfort doesn’t have the Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils.

I found myself reading the ingredients list and nutritional information on the back of every major Baby Formula brand (stage 1) and in the end realised there wasn’t a perfect formula which had everything on my wishlist… until I found Diamond Nutrition.  It’s Australian-made, has 1.35g of protein, has Omega 3 and Omega 6, amino acids and the very important prebiotics ingredient galacto-oligosaccharides (which until recently could only be found in breastmilk), and probiotics. The only reason I haven’t bought it is because I’m a bit skeptical of new/small brands. I prefer brands with a longer history. Brands in Australia (of all different kinds of products) constantly seem to disappear off the market and I didn’t want to get Bubs hooked onto something that might not exist in 6 months’ or 12 months’ time.

So after to-ing and fro-ing we opted for Nestlé Nan Optipro stage 1 baby formula and we’ve stuck with it ever since. Btw Nestlé baby formula is made by Guigoz in France and there is Optipro as well.

I tried a few different brands of bottles on Bubs but he liked the Pigeon the most. I started with the smaller 160ml glass bottles and ended up using the Pigeon Flexible Peristaltic PPSU 240ml bottles (with the yellow ring).

I later found out that the Philips Avent wideneck bottles screw on perfectly onto the Spectra breastpump. However, I introduced these bottles to bubs too late and he never really took to them… The Spectra is a great pump however their bottles suck! I stuck with them though and changed the nipples into the Pigeon wide neck nipples (they fit well).

Having used both the narrow neck and wide neck bottles I recommend the wideneck ones. They take up more room in your bag but the narrow ones are a nightmare for getting the scoop of baby formula in. You have to match it up precisely and when you are tired (half asleep, half dead?) with no patience this can be a difficult thing to do! That being said, the Pigeon narrow neck bottles were great for travel and I’ll explain why in another blogpost about what items you need for a long haul flight with baby!

Baby feeding solids Essential pregnancy and baby items

Solids

Once you got the hang of breastfeeding, pumping and bottle feeding.. then along comes solids feeding! (around the 5-6 months mark). What fun and what mess! 😛  There are tons of great innovative products for this sector and some I’ve used and recommend are listed below. We went to ‘Sleep school‘ around the 4 months mark and I saw babies who were much older and watched as their mothers fed them solids. I saw that some mums actually had on 2 bibs! A smock and then a silicon 3D bib (with ‘catcher’) over the top. It gave me a lot of insight and I researched a bit about smocks.. I ended up getting the Little Chomps one as it has sleeves and is relatively long, is made of a nice soft material (not hard plastic or silicon) and totally wipe clean! Less laundry is a bonus for me!

I came across the Subo food bottle at a design market and I spoke to the man who created the product. It is so ingenious but at that point I didn’t know if we were ever going to become pregnant… about a year later I was pregnant and went to a baby expo and there he was again! This time I knew I had to get it! It’s great for putting in puréed food and letting bubs feed themself. The way it’s designed (with a solid plastic shell) there’s no way they can actually squeeze out too much product and make a gigantic mess everywhere.

Silicon placemats and bowls are a must. I am not recommending any particular brands as there are so many. I also loved the Nuby freezer pots which is what we currently use to feed Bubs. We use the trays to store the food in the freezer then portion and defrost into the Nuby pots.

The mesh feeders and silicone feeders are also ingenious products. Which genius comes up with these things?!

Beaba Babycook pro Baby feeding solids Essential pregnancy and baby items

And finally, we have the cooking appliance… the Béaba Babycook Duo was one of the French baby products I HAD to have (much like the Cocoonababy (see below under ‘Sleep‘)).  It’s one of the most popular baby products in France. It is super easy to use to steam and blend food to make your own baby food. Hubby and I rarely use store-bought products, much preferring to make our own. It’s far better and healthier that way. That being said, when we’re travelling or out of time we do use the sachets and jars from the supermarket too and there are tons of different brands.

The Baby Bjorn highchair was also a product I had to have. Again, I read tons of reviews and I was convinced this was the best one. Being a designer, I loved the sleek, minimalistic, elegant and modern look but most of all I loved the functionality and the easy-to-clean factor. I absolutely hated the big, gigantic, clunky high chair we used at the hospital where I attended the Sleep School. It weighed a ton and had a million crevices for food to hide. The Baby Bjorn highchair is actually pretty tiny but still does the job. It slides right under our dining table/bench and takes up no room at all. This was really important for me as we live in a small apartment! Best of all, it requires no harness and baby is easy to get in and out and is held in place by the moveable tabletop. The tabletop makes sure there is no gap between baby and itself so there is no chance of food falling down the gap and everywhere. In case you need to clean the seat itself (and I never have due to the clever design of the highchair and the Little Chomps smock) it is just ONE piece, and has totally smooth and curved surfaces with no tight corners or hinges.

And as if it isn’t small enough, the legs come off AND it also folds away so you can tuck it away in a small gap between two pieces of furniture or take it with you on road trips… As I said, I read tons of reviews before I buy anything and I am super pleased with this piece of baby furniture. It has definitely exceeded all my expectations.

Love to Dream swaddles

Sleep

The Hospital teaches you how to swaddle a baby with a large muslin swaddle or blanket and in my half-dead state I wasn’t really in the mood to learn. I tried and realised I didn’t have the patience at all so I went about investigating easier options and along came the ‘Love to Dream’ swaddle, created by an Aussie mum! They are so easy to use, even the hubbies can do it 😛  Just zip and go! Too easy! They come in different sizes and thicknesses so choose the appropriate one for bub’s size and for the temperature (season).

Some people prefer the ErgoPouch swaddles which have a slightly different design. They also make more designs for older babies and toddlers so check them all out and choose one which fits your bub’s age and needs…

I’d still recommend getting a couple of large muslin swaddles as they are useful for so many different things. Aden and Anais (created by an Aussie mum) is a good brand. Apart from baby swaddles you can use them as pram covers (for the sun or to help baby sleep better), breastfeeding covers, burp clothes, towels to wipe up milk or vomit messes, a makeshift picnic mat or playmat for baby in public places… the list goes on!

I’m a rather anxious person and I was concerned about bub’s breathing during sleeping. I didn’t want anything fiddly that required wires or wifi… I came across another ingenious product called the Snuza Hero. It’s a TINY little plastic device which clips on to the baby’s nappy (diaper). That’s it! You don’t need to put anything under the mattress or need an app to actually make it work.. it works straight away. It just needs an (unusual, uncommon) battery…  It’s basically a movement sensor and senses bub’s stomach moving up and down when he/she is breathing. If there is no movement detected a small alarm/vibration will go off hopefully waking Bubs up… if still nothing happens, then a louder alarm will go off, definitely waking you and hubby up. It’s not 100% foolproof though. We did have 2-3 false alarms but apart from that I do think it’s a great product for piece of mind.

Everyone who has ever had a baby will tell you how important (or how useful rather) ‘white noise‘ is to have while baby is sleeping. Because the womb is so noisy for them inside (they can hear your heartbeat and your blood gushing around, as well as noises from the environment..) it can be hard for a newborn baby to sleep in a totally quiet room. This was one area I actually didn’t do much research on but it was by chance and luck that one of my good friends gifted us this product called Ewan the Dream Sheep. It’s a cute plush toy with white noise built in. There are different volume levels and different sounds and it lasts 30mins, long enough for Bubs to get to sleep. You can always restart it again if needed.  It was something I had never considered getting but it was really really useful for those early weeks. If you want something quick and easy and free you can download white noise apps. We sometimes use one called ‘Baby Sleep’ (Android/iOS). Only problem with that is you can’t use your phone while it’s in the bedroom next to the cot!

Baby bedroom furniture…
The Snüzpod was actually one of the first things we bought. Much like the pram I spent forever deciding which brand and model I wanted. I knew I wanted a co-sleeper but that’s all I knew. I’d find one I’d like, see it in real life, (or read about it online if it wasn’t available in a nearby baby store) and then find things ‘wrong’ with it…  I first decided I wanted the Chicco Next2Me bassinet but when I saw it in real life I was surprised by how huge and heavy it was and also didn’t like that you had to either had to have it tethered to your bed with the side down or further away with the side up and it was a time consuming process to change between the 2 ‘modes’… I then decided I liked the Halo swivel bassinet.. but a couple of bad reviews and its flimsyness dissuaded me… Then I looked into the Arm’s Reach bassinets (various models), Troll Sun bassinet and the BedNest bassinet. Again, there was something wrong with them… until I found the Snüzpod which ticked all the boxes for me. It’s quite narrow so fitted in our small bedroom next to our bed perfectly, while still having space to walk around all 4 sides. I could switch between co-sleeper mode (side down) and normal bassinet (side up) anytime I wanted with just a zipper. Too easy! It also has a rocking feature which is super useful as well. As well as that it’s so beautiful and stylish and has a shelf underneath to store stuff like bedlinen, toys, nappies or anything! A definite winner and no regrets for me.

I had read a lot about how babies like to be cocooned up in the womb and therefore would have troubles sleeping on a flat bed. Very early on I decided I wanted to try the Amby Baby Air Hammock (which was created by a Chinese Australian father) with Bubs. However, once I realised how much room that would take up I decided it was a no-go. So I went to research other products and stumbled upon the Red Castle Cocoonababy. It was invented and is made in France by a paediatric physiotherapist. .. The more I read about it (also watched a documentary about it on Youtube), the more I HAD to have it. I told Hubby who told his parents and they gifted it to us! They sent it to us all the way from France. However, it is readily available in Australia and many other countries around the world. I won’t say that Bubs had a perfect sleep every single night but apart from the odd night here and there Bubs slept super well! Especially compared to other babies in my mothers’ group (who are all around the same age). He’s always been a pretty good sleeper overnight and I have the Cocoonababy to thank for that. It is also very portable. You can move it around the house (but never place it on an elevated surface). You can also bring it to a friend’s house or on road trips. That being said, we only ever used it inside our bassinet at home. The only downside is that it’s quite expensive and you can only use it until 3-4 months when they’ll be too long for it. Note that I’ve never used the Sleepyhead nest (and other similar products) but I believe that the Cocoonababy is a far superior product.

At around the 6-7 month mark, Bubs was getting too big for the bassinet and we had to move him into a cot. However, I wanted to keep him in our bedroom and by chance I stumbled upon a ‘mini cot’. The main criteria for me was having an ergonomic cot. I have a bad back so lifting Bubs in and out over a ‘wall’ would not work for me at all. Hubby is quite tall too so it was beneficial for both of us to have a higher cot. These are called ‘ergonomic cots‘ and are only usually used in childcare places.  However, in Australia, they are also sold to the public. They have a drop-side and the mattress only has one height which is situated around the mattress height of the highest setting of a normal-sized cot. That means that that Bubs is nice and safe and you don’t need to bend over heaps to get Bubs in/out. There is also tons of room underneath the cot so that you can bend your knees if need be. We ended up getting the Babyhood mini ergonomic cot and it’s been great so far. The drop side is smooth and easy to operate and the cot only takes up a fraction more space than the Snüzpod bassinet did.  It has castors too so it can be moved from room to room, or useful for rocking bubs to sleep.
(The dimensions of the mattress are 60x100cm instead of the standard Australian size of about 70x130cm).

I also used an Airwrap mesh cot bumper. You can’t tell from the photo but it’s totally mesh so therefore breathable (I only have it on 3 sides due to the drop side).

Numu-roo baby mesh cot mattress

Once Bubs started flip-flopping all over the place during his sleep and sometimes sleeping face down I began to freak out a bit and went on a researching rampage again… I discovered an amazing product called the Numu mattress, invented and made in Israel. The mattress is made of a metal frame and a mesh fabric cover (several layers thick). It’s totally breathable, allowing great airflow and is hypoallergenic and anti-dustmites. It is also very firm too. An Israeli-Australian father and entrepreneurial guy decided to bring that mattress down under so it’s now easily available to us Aussies too, yay! He re-named it the Numu-roo (which is a pretty cute name I reckon) and I have personally (well Bubs, not me haha) tested out this wonderful mattress and I can say it’s definitely a winner, particularly in the hot Aussie summer. It’s so light and breathable and I no longer have to stay awake at night worrying. Plus bodily fluids (if any) such as sweat, tears, milk dribble, urine, etc, will just go straight through. No chance of a grimey or mouldy build up that you can’t clean and no need for a mattress protector!! The fact that it’s so easy to wash is a winner too (under the shower or a hose), as you can’t wash a normal mattresses which may be full of allergens such as dustmites and God-knows-what.

The Numu-roo also has some accessories such as legs to elevate the mattress on one end (for reflux or breathing problems) and a baby monitor holder.

Numu-roo baby mesh cot mattress

With so many different mattress sizes on the market, Numu-roo also custom makes any size you want, like they did for me! What a shame they can’t make me a giant, adult-sized one hahaha. For the month of November 2019 only, Numu-roo are offering $75 off any purchase over $400 with the code LIVIA75. Get the discount while you can!

Change

I went with Huggies brand because they are an Australian brand and the nappies are made in Australia. I used the Huggies Ultimate newborn nappies and loved them. They were so thick and plush and soft.. Never had any leakage problems till Bubs outgrew that size… Around that time Bubs was starting to outgrow them Huggies was in the media for moving their manufacturing offshore and also producing inferior products which lead to severe rashes and even burning skin, etc (claim many mums around Australia).  As I didn’t want to hang around to try and find out if this was true or not I began investigating other brands… I came across Merries, which is a Japanese brand. Since I’m quite fond of Japanese brands (such as Pigeon bottles) I was willing to give them a try. At first I ordered them online (since they are not readily available in local shops, only some specialty baby stores will stock them) but then I discovered by accident that many Asian grocery stores will carry them too, so now that’s where we buy them from. I was also deathly fearful of Bubs getting nappy rash so I didn’t want to use crappy nappies. I’ve stuck with the brand as I’ve been super happy with them. They are not as thick as the Huggies Ultimate newborn ones but are still much thicker than the average nappy. They are super soft too and have NO odour at all. I’d collected a bunch of nappy samples from baby expos and gifted mums showbags so I could compare.

Now I know that there are many eco-friendly nappy brands such as Bambo, Eco by Naty, Moltex, Tooshies by Tom, Ecoriginals etc, and they were actually my first choice but as they are only available online they were just too expensive in the long term (and I had made an Excel spreadsheet comparing all the brands and stores and prices) or the quality wasn’t as good as the Japanese brands.

When we were in France my mother-in-law had bought us Pampers (a super popular brand over there) and they had this horrible chemical smell so I didn’t want to use them on Bubs. I didn’t have time to research brands so I tried Carryboo, which is a newer and ecological and more ‘natural’ nappy brand. I could still detect a very very faint smell but it was nowhere near as bad as Pampers. We tried them and liked them and even went through 2 packets while we were there. I was very happy with them and will definitely use them again when we go back.

Lastly you’ll need a separate bin for nappies. It doesn’t have to be anything special. We ended up getting the Tommee Tippee Sangenic bin as it’s the most common one, and I found out you can get cheaper refills for it from Pootube.

Bubba Blue Koala baby towel Mustela baby skincare Stelatopia eczema

Bath

We bought this cute Bubba Blue hooded koala bath towel at a baby expo. It’s won some awards for product design. Of course you don’t need a fancy towel though. My friend gave me a hand-me-down hooded swimming towel and that actually ended up being more useful because you can dry bub’s stomach as well and have no fear of them getting cold in winter…

Wash mitts are great. This was one product where I did no research at all and just stumbled upon it and it was an impulse buy which turned out to be super useful! I’ve since bought 2 more.

I’d seen friends with this Angelcare bath support and thought it was a super useful product. I didn’t read or research too much into it but when we went to use it I soon realised it wasn’t going to work because we don’t have a bathtub! I thought we could use it in our laundry tub but it was too big to fit inside. D’oh!

So we quickly had to find (at the last minute) an alternative way to washing Bub and I came across this amazing bathtub by Roger Armstrong/Monitub. It has built in scales and digital thermometer. Both features are super useful. It also comes with a stand which means no backpain or knee bruises!

When Bubs outgrows the Monitub I might try the Charli Chair.

I absolutely love Mustela baby skincare products, so much so that I’m an influencer for them. Both Hubby and I had eczema as a child and I’m super sensitive to artifical fragrances so I’m always wary of products with fragrances. No matter how ‘good’ or ‘nice’ something smells, I can guarantee you the fragrance is likely to be artificial and full of chemicals. Not the Mustela Stelatopia range for eczema-prone skin. It feels devine on the skin and when Bubs has a mild eczema break out I use it on him. It is also good for preventing eczema. Bubs also had a bout of cradle cap like most babies do and their shampoo and cradle cap cream cleared it up really quickly!  Mustela is my ‘go to’ but I do also use Moogoo on his face sometimes, as all the ingredients are edible.

Rest/Play

The Béaba Up and Down Rocker/Bouncer (Transat in French) was another French product I had to have… except I wasn’t sure how to get it. It was recommended to me by one of my friends in France who was a new mother herself.  It wasn’t available in Australia when I first found out about it. Since I couldn’t get it easily without huge shipping costs I gave up on getting one… but one day when I wasn’t even looking for it, I found someone selling it! I couldn’t believe it. It was a French couple who’d bought it online from the UK (and paid those huge shipping costs) and they were going to sell it to us for a fraction of the price because they didn’t need it anymore and because they were moving to Singapore… I was overjoyed and this was seriously one of the most useful products for those first few months. Again, I’m conscious of not hurting my back with bending over and this product avoids all of that! Most bouncers sit low on the ground so if you are sitting on the couch next to Bubs you have to constantly bed over. With this amazing product Bubs is always at the right height, right in front if you. We also used it as a high chair when Bubs couldn’t hold his head up yet (around 5 months old). It was so so useful. I can’t stress how useful it was!  (It is now available in Australia but wasn’t when I first started looking.)

The Fisher Price motorised baby swing was also super useful (and we are still using it now although Bubs will outgrow it any day now, both in size and development). When we couldn’t get Bubs to nap in the daytime (which was most of the time in the early months) or calm down we’d put him in the swing and Bam! Instant calm. The swing also has different songs, a mirror ball to look at and a rotating mobile. I’d bought an older model which I feel is actually better than a lot of the more recent models for the good quality and features. I also chose a power-operated and not battery operated one. Using the swing was the only way I could actually have a shower and especially wash my hair! (if I had noone else at home helping me). This is another indispensable baby product.

Around 5-6 months we got Bubs this playmat. Dwingular is a Korean brand which is now super popular in Australia. Their Bubba Mats are made of a really nice memory foam. Firm to the touch but soft under stress, for example if Bubs falls over it’s very cushioning. They now have and there are other brands which sell similar mats with more subdued and neutral designs but I actually like the bright, colourful and stimulating designs. Afterall, if it’s a baby product why not buy it for baby instead of treating it as some kind of interior design project for your home? (Sorry, but I just don’t ‘get’ this neutral everything baby decor these days that designers have come up with… there’s a reason why baby products are brightly coloured!)

Bumbo chair… We started using this around the 3 month mark up until about 8 months. Although Bubs still fits in it now (at 9 months) he won’t stay stationery and seated anymore and prefers to (sort of) crawl around. Around the 4-6 month mark was when it was most useful as Bubs could happily sit in it for quite a while while I did my stuff such as shower and cook.

Activity Centre – When Bubs was starting to outgrow the Bumbo chair I wanted to try an Activity Centre so he could try his standing up skills. It worked a treat and we still use it now, daily. I don’t recommend any particular brand. The Exersaucer ones are probably the ‘best’ but the one we got works well too. Make sure you get one with adjustable height settings.

Baby health

It’s quite hard to take the temperature of a baby since they move constantly. We used a digital infrared thermometer but some people claim they are not that accurate. The hospital used one with a long, stainless steel metal probe but I’m not sure if those are available to the public.

Babies can’t clear their own noses so you’ll need a nasal aspirator. I didn’t like the idea of sucking snot out so I just used a very simple bulb one. However, I felt using a cotton bud (with a very small tip) was sometimes more effective. We used a saline nasal spray to clear Bub’s nose too when he was congested and snotty. While we were in France he had a bout of runny nose (causing him to cough) and the GP recommended the saline as well, but in a one time use drop form, called sérum physiologique. It is used to clean eyes, nose or ears in both babies and adults. We gave it to Bubs 3 times a day (he screamed for a few seconds after each time) and within a few days it cleared it right up.

We’ve never actually used these yet but I was advised to have some in the house “just in case” – Dymadon (which is basically Panadol but has a nice flavour for babies), and Zyrtec (for sudden cases of allergies including food allergies).

We give Bubs a probiotics powder in his formula every day. Apparently probiotics help with the immune system and fighting bugs, particularly in crowded places and airports/airplanes where there are lots of people in confined spaces. I don’t know if it does anything (I can’t prove anything) but I have to say that Bubs has only had 2 bouts of a runny nose which only lasted a few days each and other than that he’s always been perfectly healthy.

The Nail Snail is yet another ingenious baby product created by an Aussie mum, recommended to me by a good friend. It is super hard to cut babies’ nails. You won’t know what it’s like till you have a baby yourself! They are constantly moving. In fact, it becomes a two-person job. You need one person to keep baby still and distracted (with a bottle, or toy or both!) and the other to cut. In the first few weeks baby’s nails are super soft so you can actually just peel, pull or bite them off but after a while you’re going to need an efficient nail cutter and this does a great job. It just glides along. There is no fear of accidentally cutting Bub’s skin. Another friend of mine recommended me a battery-operated one with a small rotating disc on the end which I haven’t tried yet but sounds interesting and useful.

101 essential pregnancy and baby items Britax Flexx pram

Out and about

I spent ages and ages researching prams. It would be by far the most expensive baby-related purchase so I definitely had to do the research as I wanted no regrets. Since I had waited so long to have a baby (not by choice but by circumstance) and we had had a rather difficult journey to get there.. I wanted an amazing pram as my ‘prize’ for falling pregnant. If this makes no sense to you it probably never will unless you have been in these same shoes (There is a scene in the “Bridget Jones’ baby” film where Bridget says, “I’m going to get one of those Bugaboo things!”…) A pram to a woman is also similar to a car to a man. Looks, style, brand name etc are really important. It conveys a lot of things about the person behind pushing it. Just as hubby can look at any car on the road and be able to name the brand and model (most of the time), I started to be able to see prams in public and be able to name the brand and model from afar…

The first pram (or stroller rather) I wanted was the Babyzen Yoyo. Since I’m a little bit obsessed with French products, I thought this was a genious product. In fact, it was the very first travel stroller which spawned a whole new category of strollers and now many other brands make them too. I had read on various mum forums that past the initial newborn period those big heavy prams aren’t that useful and a smaller and lighter pram is better so I thought I’d skip that first stage and save some money and head straight for the smaller and lighter pram/stroller… However, when hubby and I saw the Yoyo in real life we were both disappointed. The look and feel did not match the rather high price point but what I really didn’t like was the unadjustable handle with high handle height. I am not particularly short (165cm/5’5″), but I have suffered with wrist joint problems during my adult life and I didn’t want to make it worse. I was really annoyed that the handle was so high and even wrote to them asking them why it was made this way but they never replied … I also didn’t like that you had to buy a separate bassinet. It couldn’t recline all the way back (I also later found out that the design of the Australian version is slightly different to the European version and doesn’t recline as much, because of our safety standards ). One thing I do really like though is the seemingly endless range of colour options! Anyway, I began investigating other options…

One of the staff at Baby Bunting recommended the Mountain Buggy Nano to us. He said it was actually better than the Yoyo for a lot of different reasons, mainly that you can use it for a bit longer, for an older/bigger Bubs. It also had a lower handle height than the Yoyo which suited my height perfectly. It was nice but I couldn’t put my finger on why I didn’t like it. I wasn’t 100% satisfied with it and wanted something ‘more’…

One of the reasons why I spend so much time researching products is because I’m a designer. I’ve always loved design. I studied design at uni. I’ve worked as a graphic and web designer. I also love industrial, product, fashion and textile and interior design. I’m fascinated and obsessed with design. To me the ‘perfect’ product must be functional, practical and beautiful. It’s a hard ask, isn’t it? Because I’m a designer, I design ‘perfect’ products in my head and seek to find them in the world, and often I’m disappointed because they don’t exist…

I then changed my mind and decided I wanted the big pram after all. Afterall, hubby and I had already decided we were only going to have one kid and so that’s why I wanted everything I wanted. I would not have another chance later on to have the best we could afford…. After looking at practically every single pram at Baby Bunting, I decided I really wanted a Bugaboo. The Cameleon was nice but Fox had just come out when we started looking. It was perfect and fitted every criteria I had. I not only looked at prams, btw, I measured them. I took measurements from their manufacturers’ websites, but also measured the handle height (range) and other parts.  I told hubby I wanted a Bugaboo and he agreed the quality and design was second to none… but he said we would be crazy to spend that much money! I guess the same idea would apply to ladies buying designer handbags and men (or women) buying Porsches and whatnot. Are those name brand products really worth 2x, 5x, or 10x the price of other brands making similar products? I could go into the psychology behind it all but at the end of the day I had to deal with the reality that we were not super wealthy.. so sad as I was, no Bugaboo it was.

I continued my search, visiting Baby Bunting two more times over the next few weeks. I went through a ton of different brands and models. I went and saw other models such as RedsBaby at Baby expos. I also measured (and noted in Excel spreadsheet) the folded size, to be sure it would fit in our car. I noted the handle heights, basket size/capacity and other features. I compared them all in paper and in real life. Yes, I got pretty obsessed with this! I wanted the ‘perfect’ pram that also would not break the bank.

Eventually… I decided I really wanted the Britax Flexx pram. I had tried to find reviews online but as it was so new there weren’t many at all. I just loved the look of it. It looked ‘designerly’ with these really cool wheels without spokes so that no leave, twigs or gunk could get in them. But it wasn’t just beautiful… It was super smooth to push. Easy to fold. The basket is a decent size. It came with a boot cover and rain cover. The sun canopy comes down fairly low. Reversible seat and bassinet. The bassinet is super large and baby can safely sleep in it (you’ll need to check your brand/model whether you can or not as not all are sleep-safe). It came in 3 different colours (grey, burgundy and navy blue – but it now only comes in grey and black). The handle height was very adjustable! and super smooth to adjust unlike some other brands which seemed clunky or sticky. There was also a gorgeous faux leather-look bumper bar and handle.. I could go on and on about how much I love this pram. I told hubby and he also happened to like it too so that’s the one we got! Btw we don’t have 2 kids but it also works as a double pram, using a second seat.

I should mention that I was not impressed with the Joolz prams at all. They are also a Dutch company, like Bugaboo, and also have a similar price point (almost AUD$2000). Their designs are nice and very pretty however, once I saw that the bumper bar ends which fix onto the pram seat were made of plastic and not metal I just thought they are a complete rip off! Most of the higher end prams and even the mid-range prams have metal fixation points. I really don’t like this cost-cutting business.

I also was not impressed with Redsbaby. I wanted to like them. Afterall, they are a new Australian company with tons of great reviews… The fabric parts looked nice but when I saw them in person I felt that the metal parts were flimsy and cheap feeling, like something was going to break. I gave up trying to adjust the height of the handlebar. It definitely did not feel as solid and smooth like the Britax Flexx. Also, the bassinet is tiny whereas our bassinet was practically as big as our Snuzpod bassinet! Another thing I don’t like about Redsbaby is that they seem to be constantly coming out with new products and not just prams. Unlike say, Bugaboo who spend 5-10 years R&D on each pram, Redsbaby only seem to spend a few months, and then don’t support or have parts for older models…pffttt…

Apart from Bugaboo and Britax, I also liked at and really liked Silvercross Pioneer, Mountain Buggy Cosmopolitan and Stokke prams but didn’t go with them for various reasons. I also contemplated getting the Silvercraft Strider (which always seemed to be on sale, strangely). The design and size seemed similar to the Britax Flexx but the quality seemed inferior, using cheaper and weaker parts.

There were a lot of prams that seemed good but I didn’t look at because either the price was too high or the size was too big. I didn’t want a pram that would take up tons and tons of room in the back of the car once folded.
I also didn’t look at the three-wheeler prams because they seemed ugly and unstable to me. That, and the fact that I don’t jog 😀

Silvercross Jet Travel stroller pram Taiwan Travel blog

Once I started planning for our France trip, I realised we’d also need a travel stroller. As I said previously, I wasn’t completely happy with the Yoyo and Nano. I wanted a travel stroller that didn’t even exist yet… that is until I discovered the Silvercross Jet. I was in love! It was brand new around the time I started researching. In fact, I would research every few weeks or so hoping my dream pram/stroller with all the features I wanted would just turn up (much like I do with cameras and camera lenses).

It wasn’t in stores yet and I had a look at it at a baby expo. It folds up super small (even smaller than both the Yoyo and Nano) and the best part is is that you can just wheel it along like a small trolley suitcase. It stands up completely on its own. The handle is then removable when you put it in the airplane’s overhead locker.

Speaking to other mums and reading forums I realised that it’s very common to own more than one pram/stroller. I know most dads will roll their eyes… but I think it’s actually very similar to camera lenses. There isn’t one ‘perfect’ pram or ‘one size fits all’ pram so you’ll end up with more than one. Some mums even ended up with 3… or 6! Crazy! Anyway, I’m super happy with the 2 we chose.

I still use BOTH prams interchangeably. Of course I use the Silvercross Jet for travel but I do also sometimes use it for every day for quick trips/walks. The Britax Flexx is better for lots of walking or on uneven terrain of course, and I also use it for grocery shopping. Apart from the big basket underneath it has these small hooks on the sides of the handle which are super useful. I can hang heavy grocery bags on them without them breaking or without the pram tipping!

I love both of these and I often tend to go for brands or products which aren’t so common and hyped up anyway so…

In terms of pram accessories, Oioi is an Australian brand that makes gorgeous accessories. I got the whole set with the ‘city print’ to really ‘pimp’ out our pram.

Hubby and I tried a few different brands of baby carriers and we went with the Ergobaby. However, like most big brands Ergobaby have done a bit of cost cutting. Their carriers used to be made of cotton but are now made of polyester. I wasn’t happy with this fact but given hubby would do most of the baby wearing (it hurts my back too much) I let him make the decision and he liked the 360. We got the Air mesh one for better airflow in hotter weather.

We also got the Mini Monkey baby sling as I later realised that the baby carrier is not really that useful for a newborn baby who can’t hold his/her head up yet. In those early days I was finally able to do stuff like hang out the washing while wearing this!

  • Britax Flexx Pram (with Bassinet)
  • Silvercross Jet Travel Stroller (new design coming in February 2020).
  • Minimonkey cotton canvas newborn baby sling
  • ErgoBaby Omni 360 Air mesh baby carrier light grey
  • Oi Oi baby bags/backpacks and pram accessories

Car

The car seat was definitely a must-have. Did you know that it was Australians who 1) invented the baby capsule for the car and 2) were the first country to introduce compulsory seat belt wearing? Australians take safety VERY seriously. We (and New Zealanders) have the strictest safety standards in the world when it comes to car safety. We even have to put on the tether strap at the top too over baby’s car seat. The first baby car capsule was made by Safe-n-Sound who were bought out by Britax (UK). Knowing this, I was happy to choose Britax for our car seat. I did some research and found out the Graphene was a highly regarded model, and bonus is that it’s slightly narrower and shallower than competing models, giving us more room in the car. It’s a mid-range model.

For those that don’t know, they recommend that baby be rear-facing (abbreviated to RF) up until he/she is 2 or 3 years old, for safety reasons. The force (forward facing) exerted on their necks during a collision can be brutal and even fatal.

Baby clothes

I won’t write too much about clothes as it’s a personal choice but I much preferred the zips over the snaps/press studs. I also prefer the stretchy baby clothes, they are easier to get Bub’s legs in/out of for nappy changing and last a bit longer when baby grows.

I don’t like dressing baby like an adult by wearing plain, neutral colours all the time. I like bright, fun and happy clothes. I love animal motifs. Afterall, they only have a short time of being able to wear such things… These stores/brands from high end to low end all sell such designs…

I highly recommend using ‘natural’ laundry detergents too. I’ve always used low or no fragrance detergents as I’m particularly sensitive myself (both my nose and my skin) but it’s doubly important for newborn babies to avoid harsh chemicals and artificial fragrances to prevent getting eczema.

Paper goods / Milestone recording

This category is completely optional of course, and depends on your personality. For me, I LOVE to record and document everything, particularly as we decided to only have one child (so I’d only get once chance to do everything). I had such a hard time finding a nice baby record/memory book but there are soooo many nice ones in France so I got one from there.

I really love the Milestone cards. They make the photo just that much more special and a great keepsake.

Toys

When babies are that young they don’t actually need any toys as they’ll be spending most of their time sleeping or feeding. We did, however, receive a couple of the very popular French Sophie the Giraffe toys as gifts. (Sophielagirafe.fr) Bubs just loves to chew and suck on that giraffe! Ha! (Fun fact: When I was living in France I lived not far from the tiny town that makes them).

I know this post is crazy long but I wanted to get down all my thoughts and all my research I had done surrounding this topic. I hope it helps! Stay tuned for my post about what items to pack for baby for a long-haul international flight…